The HR Cafe

FMLA: Military caregiver leave expands

Stephen Meyer — 2009-11-06T10:11:53-05:00

Dear HR Executive, It was a big change in the FMLA when, two years ago, the government started requiring employers to approve leave for caregivers to family members injured while on military service. Now, those caregiver leave rights have been...

Compensation: The legal perils of stonewalling a raise request

Stephen Meyer — 2009-11-04T10:40:34-05:00

Dear HR Executive: It's not great employee relations to stonewall someone's request for a raise. And now it appears it can also raise legal warning flags. A federal appeals court recently ruled that as far as pay discrimination law is...

EEOC lowers its sights -- and you could be caught in the crosshairs

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-30T16:56:29-04:00

Dear HR Professional: Employment lawyer Mindy Chapman uses a popcorn metaphor to illustrate the EEOC’s current enforcement strategy: Instead of confining itself to discrimination cases where the stakes are in the millions of dollars – or even the high hundreds...

Supervisors lack time to supervise

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-28T13:51:41-04:00

Dear HR Executive, How much time do the supervisors in your company spend actually supervising? If we can believe a new study from McKinsey & Co., maybe not as much time as they should. McKinsey found that supervisors of a...

Employee benefits: They’re long gone, but their 401(k) money isn’t

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-26T13:24:10-04:00

Dear HR Executive, If your organization is like many others, you don’t like to hang on to the small balances in 401(k) accounts whose holders have left your employ. In fact, you aren’t legally obliged to keep vested balances under...

Recruiting: It's not repetitious to have candidates recap their resumes

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-23T11:46:02-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Obviously, a well prepared hiring manager always thoroughly reviews a candidate’s resume before the interview. So why would you, or one of your line managers, ask the person to talk you through the resume? Aren't you wasting...

Employee grief: How can you help?

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-23T11:44:25-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Many of us have a hard time dealing with death. At work, this often means bereaved employees don’t get the kind of help they need. Here are three suggestions for dealing with grieving employees: 1. Offer a...

ADA: Medical leave as accommodation? EEOC thinks so

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-20T15:14:24-04:00

Dear HR Executive, It seems entirely reasonable for an employer to terminate employees who exceed a certain amount of medical leave. After all, you can’t be expected to carry people who're unable to work on the payroll indefinitely. But if...

Legal compliance: Singin' the EEOC jailhouse blues

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-16T11:17:05-04:00

Dear HR Executive, A knock on the door. A voice from outside: “This is the EEOC. Open up. You’re under arrest.” Far-fetched? Nope. This is pretty much what happened recently to the owner of a Chicago health care firm. ShoreKare...

Employee wellness: How to present it so your C-suite will love it

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-14T10:20:47-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Thoughtful HR pros are committed to the concept of employee wellness, and have been for a long time. But when it comes to selling wellness to the C-suite, you may have a battle on your hands –...

Employee morale: Choosing the right techniques to boost it

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-13T09:36:53-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Some of the morale-boosting tools available to managers and HR are less effective than others in tough environments. For instance, an office party may seem like whistling past the graveyard when everyone knows things aren’t going so...

Recruiting: Outsourcing won’t immunize you from bias charges

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-09T09:26:19-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Do you outsource any of your recruiting and hiring? Some employers see advantages in having outside contractors undertake these processes -- among them, economy of scale, uniformity and cost. But one thing outsourcing your job searches won't...

Keeping employees focused on the mission

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-08T13:11:39-04:00

Dear HR Executive, It’s been a tough couple of years in the workplace: The Four Horsemen of Recession – layoffs, salary freezes, disappearing bonuses and heavier workloads – have combined to disillusion even the most enthusiastic employees. These issues are...

ADA: Drug testing must be carefully targeted

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-07T10:46:56-04:00

Dear HR Executive, If you test employees for illegal drug use, you probably have good reason. But be careful you don’t cast your net too wide. A Michigan-based auto parts maker did, and got itself sued by the EEOC. The...

Policies: Sometimes even HR has gotta break the rules

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-02T09:10:19-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Rules are rules are rules. No exceptions: It’s easy to get into that mindset when you’re responsible for drafting and enforcing policy. But according to leadership trainer Colleen Bracken, you hold a position of responsibility because your...

Harassment: An issue for female managers

Stephen Meyer — 2009-10-01T09:31:31-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Let’s face it: When HR pros worry about sexual harassment, they’re usually more concerned with harassment against rank-and-file employees than against supervisors. But supervisors can and do experience harassment – especially female ones. A new study, led...

Training: ‘I’m holding the HR director hostage’

Stephen Meyer — 2009-09-29T11:39:22-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Unannounced fire drills help employees prepare to evacuate in case of fire. So it’s only logical that an unannounced “safety drill” will help people learn how to respond in case of a hostage crisis. Right? Um, no....

Faith-based blunders land companies in court

Stephen Meyer — 2009-09-24T09:59:38-04:00

Dear HR Executive, Religious beliefs at work present a balancing act – you can’t shut off every expression of faith, but you've also got a business to run. So where do you draw the line? Two companies recently drew it...

Merit increases on the way back

Stephen Meyer — 2009-09-23T08:45:56-04:00

Dear HR Professional: Given the times, you probably want to be cautious about ramping up on salaries even as business improves. But there’s one area where your organization might want to look at going a little more quickly: merit raises....

'Hi, this is America. I'll be in a little late today..."

Stephen Meyer — 2009-09-22T10:06:45-04:00

Dear HR Executive: In this economy, you’d think people would be paying extra attention to the little things that show employers how valuable they are. Like showing up on time, for example. Not so. In fact, employees are more likely...